MONTREAL – The former football player at the centre of a sudden resignation at McGill University has come forward to thank his coach for the support.

Luis-Andres Guimont-Mota was suspended from the McGill Redmen football team last week after he was charged with assaulting his wife.

Tuesday morning, head coach Clint Uttley stepped down in protest of the university's decision to suspend Guimont-Mota.

“I was shocked because he took me under his wing when I first came into the league, and I know I had a little bit of trouble in the past and he still took me under his wing,” said Guimont-Mota in an interview with CTV Montreal.

Uttley resigned from his post on Tuesday. He had been head coach of the Redmen since November 2011.

A resignation letter attributed to Uttley said the coach objected to McGill's decision to suspend running back Luis-Andres Guimont-Mota following his arrest last week. He was charged with assault and uttering threats against his 21-year-old wife, Stephanie Faucher.

Guimont-Mota was formally charged in Montreal Thursday and was immediately released on $300 bail and a host of conditions. His lawyer told reporters his client is not the aggressor in the case. He pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday to the charges.

It was not Guimont-Mota’s first brush with the law; he was sentenced to 90 days in jail time last year after pleading guilty to assaulting a man outside a Quebec City bar in 2010.

In his letter, Uttley took umbrage with a statement released by McGill on Friday that said "the individual should not have been invited to join our team. That was not in accordance with the values of our community."

Uttley's letter said, "I believe in rehabilitation. The student athlete accepted his conviction and did his punishment, a fact that was not hidden from the university. At the time of his arrival, the university tolerated and accepted his presence and then proceeded to celebrate his accomplishments thereafter."

He noted that McGill did not object to Guimont-Mota's presence on the team when he was sentenced jail time last year.

Guimont-Mota said it was no secret.

“It was all over the news and he never hid it from them, so I mean, I'm disappointed,” he said.

“All the universities were fighting to get  him in their team and so everybody knew. The coach knew, the university knew and now they say they didn't know. I think this is hypocrisy,” said Guimont-Mota’s attorney Steve Hanafi.

"McGill accepts Coach Uttley's resignation and thanks him for his dedication and service to McGill and the Redmen football team," McGill deputy provost Ollivier Dyens said in a statement. "The University maintains that the pedagogical mission of our institution takes precedence. We wish Mr. Uttley well in his future endeavours.

"As we indicated in a statement last week, we launched an in-depth review of our rules and regulations governing participation in varsity sports to ensure that all rules and regulations are aligned with and reinforce transparent decision-making, accountability and commitment to the values that define the McGill learning environment.

"Our review is continuing."

Uttley's Facebook page was filled with message of support Tuesday, and two football players spoke out, saying they supported Uttley.

“I feel that he has done the right thing standing with his values and his morals as he said in his statement,” said player Louis Morrisette.

The former head coach said he was not commenting further on his decision.

Guimont-Mota was allowed to serve the sentence on Sundays so it wouldn't interfere with his football career.

The third-year business management student and starting running back was arrested at a downtown apartment where he lives with his wife. McGill said the player in question had been immediately suspended as per the university's varsity athletics guidelines.

Guimont-Mota's lawyer said the university was too hasty in suspending his client from the football team and didn't know all the facts of the case. Hanafi said the 22-year-old Guimont-Mota is considering filing a cross-complaint against his estranged wife, the alleged victim in the current case.

Guimont-Mota won the Dan Pronyk Memorial Trophy, given to McGill football's most outstanding offensive player, last season.
 

With files from The Canadian Press